Parties Introduce Last Minute Evidence in Three Co-Defendant Murder, Conspiracy Trial

By Sofia Feigelson [former] - May 17, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

At the culmination of a months-long murder conspiracy trial, both the prosecution and the defense submitted evidence at the last minute in hopes of bolstering their respective cases.

On May 16, the defense teams renewed their motion for judgment of acquittal shortly thereafter the presentation of new evidence, but DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt was quick in denying the motion on behalf of the co-defendants.

Koran Jackson, 23, Tyiion Kyree Freeman, 24, and Stephen Nelson, 33, are three of five individuals charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, assault with the intent to kill while armed, first-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020, on the 600 block of S Street, NW. The shooting also left a second juvenile victim located in the vicinity suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the right leg.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution has attempted to connect Jackson, Freeman, and Nelson to additional shootings that occurred on Feb. 22, 2020, Feb. 24, 2020, and a second shooting on March 1, 2020. The prosecution alleges a firearm conspiracy among the defendants in which they aimed to obtain and use specific weapons in Lukes’ homicide.

The case also involves alleged co-conspirators Reginald Steele, 24, and Aaron Brown, 27. 

Nelson’s attorneys called on the mother of one of Nelson’s children. She testified to knowing him since 2016, and having a daughter with him in 2019. 

Defense attorney Lisbeth Sapirstein questioned the witness about her relationship with Nelson, how often she would spend time with him, and whether or not she knew him under another alias, like his suspected nickname throughout the case known as “Boogie.” 

The witness stated she did not know Nelson as “Boogie,” nor did she know of the alleged co-conspirators, including Freeman and Jackson. 

The prosecution later pulled up a Facebook message exchange from November 2019 between the witness and Nelson, and pointed out that “Boogie” was in his username.

The witness stated that they were not Facebook friends at the time, so she wasn’t sure what any of his aliases may have been.

Additionally, the witness stated that she would see Nelson about “three to four days a week” in 2019 and 2020 because he would go over to her house and typically spend the night. 

“I was in love [with Nelson],” the witness testified, adding that although she was “head over heels in love,” she had certain rules in her household because she is a mother and has young children.

“He know I don’t allow that,” the witness stated, addressing that Nelson’s friends would not be allowed in her house with Nelson because she did not want her children around them.

Images of an individual identified as Nelson pictured with guns in his possession were presented by the prosecution after the witness testified that she had never seen Nelson with a firearm in-person before.

The prosecution also mentioned that Nelson and another woman had a child one month after the birth of Nelson and the witness’ daughter. She was unable to identify Nelson’s location in a video of Nelson in another individual’s bed.

The prosecution suggested the witness was not exposed to Nelson’s “other side”, the “side where he carried guns,” in addition to not knowing where Nelson would be or what he would be doing the other “three to four days a week” that they were not together.

Freeman’s attorney, Andrew Ain, argued for the admission of a letter therefore, re-opening his case which he originally rested on May 15. 

The letter claims two officers presented different stories about the retrieval of two items of evidence, including Freeman’s phone, that went missing in March 2024 when the prosecution was preparing to admit this evidence during trial.

In the letter, dated March 27, 2024, one officer stated that the missing evidence was later found in the evidence department of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) by another officer. 

However, the officer who located the evidence had previously reported that it was found in a locked desk drawer in his office.

Freeman’s defense argued the letter should come in because it relates to the chain of custody during the investigation.

The prosecution stated that the letter should not come in “unsanitized,” arguing that parts of the letter should be redacted as they believed some of the information was redundant and irrelevant to the defense’s argument.

Judge Brandt stated she would choose which information would and would not be redacted from the letter “Because you guys can’t seem to do the one thing I need you to do – to work it out yourselves.”

“I take a more cautious, narrower view,” she stated.

However, Judge Brandt ultimately decided to admit the letter in its entirety. She would be “extremely surprised” if the document is the deciding factor for the jury, given the abundance of information that has been presented.

In response, the prosecution decided to reopen their case and called a forensic scientist with MPD.

The analyst stated that she extracted data from Freeman’s phone, creating a report on June 8, 2020 that was over 18,000 pages long. The report contains material such as location data, texts, videos, and call logs.

According to the witness, the analysis of Freeman’s phone and its original data does not change, reaffirming the prosecution’s assertion the chain of custody was intact.

With the new evidence, all three defense teams renewed their motion for judgment of acquittal.

Judge Brandt rejected the motion, stating that the new witness testimonies and new evidence do not pose great weight. She concluded, as before, the defendants would likely be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Parties will reconvene May 28.